Growing Up
by linklover77
Summary: Takes place between TS2 and TS3. The toys are growing uncertain of what lies ahead. Jessie, being the only one who's been through this, offers comforting words to the others but still suffers from her abandonment long ago.


**I've been working on this for a bit now, and I'm not sure how well it turned out. Midway through the story it completely changed, but I think I like it. I hope to be able to write more soon, and I hope you'll enjoy this short story/one-shot thing...or whatever it is. :P**

Bullseye trotted up to his favorite cowboy. He nuzzled his brown head against Woody's left hand in the hopes that Woody might give him a moment's notice. Woody looked down at Bullseye and smiled.

"Hey there Bullseye," Woody cooed as he stroked his friend's head. "How are you doing today?"

The horse, being unable to speak, simply grinned at the cowboy. Woody's smile grew, and he returned to staring out the window. He watched as Andy got on the school bus. He was in junior high school now, and it was obvious he was really beginning to grow up. He didn't play with his toys as much as he once did, and he started going to friend's houses more often. He became involved in extracurricular activities, which kept him away from home. When he came home, he went right to his homework and then watched T.V. or played video games. After that, it was dinner time and then off to bed. This had become a daily routine, and it seemed that Andy would keep this up until he graduated from high school.

Woody sighed. He'd been worried about Andy growing up. He couldn't shake this feeling that things were just starting to take a turn for the worse. He decided he might as well start their routinely morning staff meeting. It was the only thing he had to look forward to this morning.

Woody straightened up and hopped down off of the windowsill. He pulled up a few books to stand on, and called out to Buzz, who was walking nearby.

"Hey Buzz. We're just about ready for our staff meeting," Woody said.

Buzz nodded and started announcing the staff meeting was to commence in three minutes. The toys began to gather around Woody, their faces full of gloom. Woody smiled, hoping that if he smiled, maybe he could lighten the melancholy atmosphere that seemed to cling to the room. Besides, things weren't that bad. He knew that Andy still loved them all. It was just hard to accept the fact that he was growing up. Woody cringed as he thought way back to the prospector. As evil as that stinky toy was, he did have a valid point. Woody couldn't stop Andy from getting older, and it wouldn't be too long before Andy would leave for college. What would the toys do then?

Woody's thoughts continued to whirl around within his mind, but Buzz coughed once to inform Woody that the toys were ready. Woody snapped out of his daze and prepared to deliver some hard news to the toys.

"How's everyone doing today?" Woody asked. He didn't want to jump right into the bad news first. No one answered, however, and this created an even more tense feeling in the room.

"Well, I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news," Woody started. He examined each one of their faces to see their reactions. Their faces were blank, expressionless. He looked to Jessie. She usually was energetic and smiling, but now, her eyes were moist and her mouth pulled into a small frown. Woody sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Andy's growing up," Woody started.

"Really Sherlock?" Mr. Potatohead interjected. "I didn't know you were a detective, Woody."

"Hey now, let's not get carried away," Buzz said, trying to calm the angry potato.

"Carried away?" Hamm suddenly joined in. "The kid is growing up! He hardly ever plays with us, and you're telling us not to get carried away?"

"Listen to Woody," Jessie quietly said as she stared down at the ground.

All of the toys turned to face the slouched-over cowgirl. Though she had spoken the words as quietly as possible, the toys had heard them as if they were resonating loud and clear through the small bedroom. They realized she had been through this before, and they felt ashamed that they hadn't even given a moment's thought for how she might feel going through this whole process…again. They slowly turned to face Woody.

"Thanks Jess," he grumbled. She simply stared at the ground. Woody cleared his throat and began again. "This is a difficult truth that we must all face. He's growing up and fast, and Molly is already starting to cease playing with her own toys."

The toys stood in silence as they thought about Molly. It had seemed at one point that Molly might inherit Andy's toys, but that possibility seemed to have vanished when Molly ceased to play with her favorite toy of all time: her Barbie doll. They knew she was growing up faster than Andy, and the pain of having to face the reality of it all was too much for some to bear.

Mrs. Potatohead started to cry. Mr. Potatohead tried to comfort her, but it was no use. The toys stood and listened to her sob, but there was nothing they could do about it. There was nothing any of them could do about it. This was how it was going to be, whether they liked it or not.

"We've got to stay strong," Woody suddenly said. "We'll push through this, just like we've done with everything else."

The toys continued to silently listen as if they were stuck in some trance. Mrs. Potatohead began to regain control over her emotions and listened to Woody in silence. He was right. He always was right. All they needed to do was push through. It'd be tough, but they'd handled tough things before.

"Woody?"

Woody's eyes widened in shock. Surprisingly, the source of the voice was Jessie. He didn't even know what to say.

"Woody?" Jessie asked again. "Can I say something?"

Woody, still in shock, simply nodded.

"Thank you," Jessie solemnly whispered. She stood up and walked to the front of the group of toys. She slowly turned around to face them, her eyes slightly red and her bottom lip curled. She looked at each and every toy before she spoke.

"You all know my story," she began. "So I don't have to tell you that I know how you all are feeling right now. Even though he's usually wrong, Woody is right about this. As hard as it may be, we've just got to push through this." Jessie paused briefly, but she continued with even more vigor than when she had started.

"It's gonna be hard at times, but trust me, it'll work out. Look at me," she said as she pointed a small finger at her stomach. "Emily was everything to me, but…I was able to move on. It was rough being with Al, but when I came to Andy's, I knew that all of my pain and hardships…well…they were worth it, and I grew stronger. I know that if we all stick together, that no matter what happens, we'll be able to deal with it. Plus, Andy loves each and every one of us to death. I can see the way he treats us, and I know he's not gonna do anything that would upset us. He's a good kid, and he'll do what's best for everyone. Trust me."

No one said a word after she'd spoken. They all stared up at the cowgirl; some stared in awe while others stared in shock. Either way, each and every toy loved her for the comfort she gave them. If she had been able to go through such a thing and come out on top, why couldn't they?

Buzz was the first to speak. "Those are true words of wisdom Jess." She smiled slyly at the space toy, and he grinned back at her.

Rex spoke up next. "Jessie's right. Andy does love us, and he's not going to let anything bad happen to us. I just wish he'd play with us a little more, but I guess I can't complain."

"I'm sorry for being such a rotten potato," Mr. Potatohead grumbled. "It's hard watching your kid grow up. I'm sorry you're going to have to go through it again Jessie."

Everyone turned to face the cowgirl. She wasn't one to blush, but the toys noticed her face turn a little pink.

"Is this meeting over Woody?" she hurriedly asked.

"Yeah," Woody nodded. "I think we've talked enough about this for one day."

Jessie quickly walked away, and the toys looked at each other, eyebrows raised in confusion. Bo Peep approached Buzz, who was watching Jessie walk off.

"Aren't you going to go talk to her?" she quietly asked.

Buzz jumped at the sound of her voice. "I think she needs to be alone," he quietly said.

"It can never hurt to have someone to talk to," Bo urged. "I'm sure it'd help if she could get whatever it is that's bothering her off of her mind."

Buzz sighed. "You're right. Jess needs a friend right now." With that being said, he jogged to catch up with Jessie.

"Hey," he breathed as he caught up to her. Jessie's eyebrows were raised, but soon a small smile appeared on her face.

"Hey," she replied, her voice a little shaky. "Why aren't you with the rest of them?" she asked as she gestured towards the group of toys. Buzz followed her gaze and watched as the toys interacted one with another. He turned his gaze back to her.

"I thought you could use someone to talk to," Buzz said. "Unless—"

He began to leave but Jessie grabbed his hand. "No," she firmly said. "Stay here…with me."

Buzz began to blush. "I'll always stay with you."

She slyly smiled and sat down on the hard floor. She patted the spot next to her, and Buzz plopped himself onto the wooden floor. It was quiet at first. Neither knew what to say to the other, but it seemed that it was supposed to be that way. More things were said between the two than ever before, and they remained sitting next to each other like this for some time. Finally, Jessie was the first to speak.

"Thanks Buzz."

He turned to look at her. "What have I done?"

"Just being here with me is helpful. I needed that."

"I'm glad I could help. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Jessie sighed. "I'm so dang predictable Buzz. You already know everything that I've got to say." She leaned back and lay on the floor, eyes closed. "It's just hard to get over it. You never forget kids like Emily or Andy."

Buzz turned to face her; the features of her face were distorted with pain and remembrance of her hurtful past. "You know, you provided a lot of comfort for these toys."

Jessie's eyelids fluttered open. "Did I?"

Buzz nodded. "You speak from the heart, and that touches people. Everyone here likes you."

Jessie smiled mischievously. "Do _you_ like me?"

"Of course I do," Buzz blushed.

Jessie studied his face and grinned knowingly. She closed her eyes again and her smile began to slip away. "Even though I say I've gotten over what's happened to me, I really haven't. I don't want others to know that though. I don't want to be a burden or cause anyone else misery."

She opened one eye and peered at him. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Buzz nodded.

She closed her eye and exhaled audibly. "I'm just a cry baby I guess."

"No you're not!" Buzz retorted. "Anyone would have collapsed if they'd been in your shoes!"

"I'm surprised I haven't," Jessie admitted. "It gets tiring after a while."

"You've just got to keep fighting."

"What _am_ I fighting? My fear of being abandoned? The dark? The unknown? Myself?"

"What I mean is you've got to hang in there. Like I've already said, we love you. There are others here for you, and until you accept that you won't be happy."

Jessie's eyelids shot open and she sat up. "You don't think I know that others care about me? You don't think I'm aware how unhappy I am right now?"

Buzz's eyes grew wide. "I didn't mean—"

Jessie sighed. "Nevermind Buzz. No one gets it. Maybe when it happens with Andy…maybe everyone will finally understand me. Maybe…" she stopped to ponder a minute. "Maybe you'll understand me."

"Jess, I—"

"I know Buzz. You're trying your best, and I appreciate that, but you don't understand. You never will."

Buzz sat dumbly as Jessie stood up slowly. She straightened her hat and cast a glance at Buzz. She sighed once and apologetically said, "Buzz, I'm sorry. I know you were trying to help. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Buzz stood up as well. "You didn't hurt my feelings. I'm just mad that I can't understand."

"It's not your fault," Jessie sighed. "Most people don't."

"I wanted to be one of them," Buzz said as he stared into her eyes. "I want to understand. I want to help. I want to be there for you."

Jessie stood, staring into his deep blue eyes. "I know Buzz. One day you'll be able to. One day I'll explain it all to you and you'll understand. Now is not the time though."

He nodded. "Thanks for being able to tell me as much as you did."

"Thanks for listening," she smiled. "You're a great toy, do you know that?"

"Well now I do," he teased.

Woody had been secretively making his way over towards the two, and he wasn't noticed until his boot squeaked after he'd stepped in a pile of Buster's saliva. Jessie and Buzz stared at Woody.

"What have you two been talking about?" Woody asked, trying to act as if he'd happened to appear there.

"It's none of your business," Jessie muttered. "Buzz and I were having a really good conversation…until you came."

Woody frowned. "Thanks Jess." He looked at Buzz. "What were you two talking about?"

Buzz shrugged. "If Jessie doesn't want to tell you, why should I?"

Woody groaned. "You two are ridiculous." He walked back to the crowd of toys, and Jessie and Buzz flashed grins at each other.

"What do you think he'll do to try and get us to tell him?" Jessie asked.

"Blackmail possibly," Buzz said thoughtfully.

"With what?" Jessie asked. "He doesn't have any dirt on us!"

Buzz blushed yet again. "Maybe he'd spread rumors about something that wasn't true."

Jessie's face lit up with understanding, and the subject was immediately dropped. "What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"I think I'm going to go make sure Woody doesn't cause any trouble," Buzz said.

"Good idea," she nodded. "Thanks again."

He smiled. "Anytime, cowgirl."

* * *

**:)**


End file.
